Chapter 10
Impatient for word from the county ME on Faye, I called his office three times before ten a.m. Finally, at ten-oh-three, the preliminary report arrived in my email inbox.
Manner of Death: Undetermined.
That required another phone call.
“Three, two, one…I counted down,” Edward Aikens said.
“Not even a ‘Hello,’ Ed?”
“Hello, Ed.”
“Funny.”
“So, Faye Wilkes suffocated,” Aikens explained. “There’s no doubt about that.”
“Shit.”
“But was it under the pile of crap that fell on her or in some other manner?”
“You tell me.”
“I wish I could. There were marks and bruises on her face consistent with what was found around her.”
“So, what makes you think it could have happened some other way?”
“The weight of the objects, her seemingly reasonable upper body strength. I’m not saying
